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About Us

In spring 2001, architectural planning began to create a new community treasure, a performing arts center that promised to be one of the most important downtown projects in Stanislaus County's history.

In the spring of 2004 construction of a premier civic complex began in the center of this leading agricultural region. The programs at the Gallo Center for the Arts reflect the interests, diversity and history of the people that call the Central Valley their home. It is a landmark in the region for decades to come. The Gallo Center for the Arts opened in the fall 2007. The Gallo Center for the Arts is an outstanding community asset, setting a new standard for all the arts, education, and entertainment for the entire region of Central California.

Regional artists and performers produce shows of a style, size, and quality never deemed possible in the past. Top-flight arts and entertainment from around California, the USA, and around the world appear before audiences from all parts of Stanislaus County and nearby communities. The Center is the focus of arts, entertainment, multicultural programming, and educational activities for the Central Valley. The educational opportunities for elementary, high school, and college students in our community is extraordinary.

The Gallo Center for the Arts is a state-of-the-art performing arts complex in downtown Modesto. The Gallo Center for the Arts is the focus of arts, entertainment, multicultural programming and social activities for the Central Valley for generations to come.

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The Gallo Center for the Arts houses two performance venues, the 1248-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater and the 440-seat Foster Family Theater. Each is a proscenium theater with a legitimate stage and fly loft. Both theaters have orchestra pits, stage aprons, and scene docks, and are equipped with modern audio-visual, rigging, drapery, lighting control, orchestra pit lift, and orchestra shell systems, allowing a wide range of acoustical, scenic and staging manipulation.

How this design was developed

A community driven research committee studied other cities and combined our
local needs to develop a performing arts center in Modesto. The recommendations
from the studies propose that the facility consist of a 1,200+ seat Main Stage
theater and a 400+ seat Second Stage theater. A survey of comparable venues
revealed that over an 8-year period, 70% of events are attended by 300 to 700
people and only 5 shows a year on average draw more patrons. As a general
principle, it is desirable for a theater to be relatively smaller than larger
since a theater that is 2/3 full may seem vacant and less intimate.

The Center is the focus of arts, entertainment, multicultural programming, and educational activities for the Central Valley

Additionally, a few sell-outs are beneficial to the reputation of a theater
since it will be seen as a desirable and successful venue. The general consensus
among theater operators is that it is far better to have a hall of a size that
is comfortable for the great majority of shows, that will sell out from time to
time, rather than to incur the cost of building and maintaining a facility that
will only be filled a few times a year. Knudson-Benson, the design consultants
and the committee also found that the size of a theater is immaterial to touring
groups as long as they can obtain their fee and the stage can handle their
equipment. Since the purpose of the endowment, in part, is to subsidize
performance costs, the seating count will not be the determining factor in
obtaining any named bookings. A 400+ seat Second Stage theater is also planned.
This theater is intended to be used for local performing groups, lectures,
seminars, business meetings, etc. Local groups have indicated that a smaller
theater would not meet their needs since most performances are between 300 to
400 people. Additionally, a theater over 400 seats starts to sacrifice intimacy.
It was also recommended that the complex include a Founders Room reception hall
as an integral element of a performing arts center. It is designed to tie in
existing facilities including the State Theater, the increase in arts activities
benefiting the entire downtown economy.

Architect:Nestor+Gaffney Architecture, LLP
Ron Nestor, AIA and Steve Gaffney, AIA and their award-winning firm have earned
recognition as one of California's leading architects. Their extensive
experience in the design of innovative projects crosses many lines including
office buildings, interiors, retail centers, mixed-use developments, large-scale
planning projects, historic restoration, and cultural facilities. Among their
recognized works are Modesto's Tenth Street Place, the Los Angeles Headquarters
of MTA, Howard Hughes Center, Headquarters for Oakley Sunglasses and Etnies
Shoes, and the Orange County Museum of Art.

Acoustical Design:Jaffe Holden Acoustics, Inc.
Jaffe Holden Acoustics brings to the project an acoustic design team with
decades of practical and artistic experience. JHA was founded by Dr. Christopher
Jaffe who is recognized internationally for his innovation and leadership in
architectural acoustic design. Over the last four decades he has consulted on
over 250 performance halls. JHA has earned numerous awards for their projects
including Biltmore Theater and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Design & Theater Architect:John Sergio Fisher & Associate
JSFA specializes in the programming and design of new, restored and renovated
theaters, as well as visual arts, performing arts, and entertainment facilities,
both public and private. The firm has designed over 100 performing arts venues
for drama, musicals, dance, opera, orchestra, band, choral concerts and recitals
throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm's in-house theater expertise and
services encompass audience chambers, stages and support spaces, seating
arrangements and sightlines, acoustics, theatrical lighting control and
distribution, rigging and draperies, variable platforms, and stage lifts and
machinery.

Our Mission

The mission of the Gallo Center for the Arts is to enrich the quality of life in the San Joaquin Valley by providing an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national and international cultural activities illuminate, educate and entertain.